Falcons May Hire A New Coach This Week

The angst over Rex Ryan heading to Buffalo is still as fresh, but we spent enough time talking about that yesterday. Ryan's gone, and whether he was actually the Falcons' top choice or not, they must move on.

Quick coaching search update: At this point, #Falcons appear to narrow their search to Todd Bowles and Dan Quinn. D is the focus.

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 11, 2015

With Ryan off the market, there's little question other hires are going to fall into place shortly, as happens every year.If teams wait too long, they risk every desirable candidate—Teryl Austin, Todd Bowles, Dan Quinn, Adam Gase and others—locking up other jobs, leaving them to fight over Josh McDaniels and Gary Kubiak, who may not be leaving their respective teams anyways. My guess, then, is that the Falcons make a hire this week.

Now, obviously, that would mean that McDaniels would not be the hire. It would also mean that Dan Quinn is not the hire. I do think Thomas Dimitroff and Scott Pioli would like the New England offensive coordinator or the Seattle defensive coordinator, but Arthur Blank will ultimately make the decision, and waiting until the very end of the post-season isn't something the Falcons want to do. If you look at their candidate list and assume they're not going to wait, a defensive-minded hire fits, and Bowles is arguably the best, most experienced candidate left.

RT @WC_Rider: Josh McDaniels headed to Atlanta. Blank is waiting on him … That will not happen.

— Peter King (@SI_PeterKing) January 11, 2015

My best guess is that Bowles will be the hire, with Quinn or Austin as the backup plan if Bowles elects not to come to Atlanta. If this happens, some are going to inevitably view it as settling, which I guess I can't talk anyone out of. But I do believe the Falcons have reason to feel Bowles is their best bet, and if that's the case, I don't think we'll have to wait long.

What say you?